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Globally, the internet has made contemporary revolutions making the shared information more accessible. Retrieving any information is much easier now than ever before. The availability of ubiquitous access to various social networks and modern search engines via smartphones, tablets or laptops has made any information accessible almost at any time of the day. A large number of tools is available to assess the quality of information. DISCERN is an instrument, or tool, which has been designed to help users of consumer health information judge the quality of written information about treatment choices. To determine the readability and the reliability of dental caries-related information retrieved on Indian websites. The present study was designed to assess the readability and the reliability of dental caries-related information retrieved on Indian websites. After determining specific search strategy, the websites were retrieved from most used search engines like Google search and Yahoo. The English term "Tooth decay" was entered in the most commonly search engine Google and Yahoo. From a total of 1,81,00,000 results obtained in various search engines we included in our study the first 25 links in each search engine. We evaluated about 50 websites, not connected to each other. The data was subjected to appropriate statistical analysis. In this study, among the 50 websites, only 7(14%) had good reliability, about 40(80%) had fair reliability. Also only about 3(6%) had good quality of information on treatment choices, about 35(70%) had fair quality. It also shows that only about 18(36%) had good overall quality. Based on the aim of the study, internet-based information about dental caries is yet not completely reliable source and also in terms of quality of source of information in treatment choices. Also, dental caries related contents were fairly easy according to the FRE-BP scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes and practices of dentists from Chennai with respect to their roles in tobacco cessation counseling and to identify the barriers. Method of Investigation: Survey design was used to conduct the study. Multistage sampling method was adapted to select the participants. In Stage 1, cluster sampling was used to select the practicing dentist in Chennai city. In Stage 2, simple random sampling was used to select a subset of dentist covering Chennai city. A total of 250 dentists of Chennai city were selected for the study. A semi-structured questionnaire was given to them and the responses were recorded. The questionnaire comprised demographic details and 13-item questionnaire related to attitudes, practices, and barriers among dentists for tobacco cessation counseling. Results: A total of 200 questionnaires were returned with the response rate of 80%. Of 200 respondents, 160 (80%) were male dentists and 40 (20%) were female dentists. Age of dentists varied from 25 to 48 years, with the mean age of 34.2 ± 7.3 years. Most of the dentists strongly believed that it is their responsibility to educate the patients regarding tobacco cessation counseling. The lack of proper training was found to be the major barrier for tobacco cessation counseling among dentist. Conclusion: Dentist has a positive attitude for tobacco cessation counseling, but lack of proper training is a significant barrier for their failure. Hence, dentists should be given proper orientation and training toward tobacco cessation counseling during their curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and distribution of musculoskeletal symptoms among dentists in Chennai and also its impact in their daily activities. Materials and Methods: The survey instrument was a self-administrated questionnaire, which was responded by 130 dentists in Saveetha Dental Hospital, Chennai, India. The following aspects were investigated age, gender, working hours per day, years of practice, pain symptoms during the past 12 months, and its interference in the daily work during the past 12 months. Questions also included the data on operating posture of the dentists, clock position, and practice of regular exercise daily. Results: The results showed 89% of the dentist reported at least one musculoskeletal complaint in the past 12 months. The mean age of the study population was 30.4 years. The most prevalent sites with symptoms reported during the past 12 months were the neck (67%), shoulders (58%), and lower back (51%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the study is to compare the efficiency of the commercially available calcium hydroxide preparation with custommade calcium hydroxide used as intercanal medicaments. Background: Calcium hydroxide is an age-old compound widely used as intercanal medicaments due to its antimicrobial activity. The custom-made calcium hydroxide will have additional properties due to the inclusion of different vehicles proven to be adjunct in contributing to its efficacy. Materials and Methods: An in vitro evaluation is done using natural teeth, grouping them into control and sample groups and contaminating it with bacteria followed by dressing the canal with medicaments to evaluate their efficacy. Result: The efficiency of commercially available and custom-made calcium hydroxide intercanal medicaments are found to be different and custom-made calcium hydroxide intercanal medicaments were found to be more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]